Centre information

Below you will find a range of important information that may be of use during your studies.

Woman making pottery

Centre information

Access to facilities

We will make every effort to ensure our buildings are accessible to all and we will seek to influence and encourage owners of other buildings that we hire to do likewise. We make all reasonable adjustment to facilitate access for wheelchair users and those with restricted mobility or sensory impairment however if you have any concerns about accessing any of our buildings please contact us on 0345 603 7635

Learner ID cards

ACL Essex strives to provide a safe and secure environment for all who visit its premises. A key aspect of discharging this responsibility is to have an effective way of controlling and monitoring who is on ACL premises with a card identification system.

  • All staff are required to wear a blue, ACL staff lanyard with an ECC ID photo card.
  • All visitors are required to wear a yellow, visitor lanyard with a Visitor’s ID badge which they are given when they sign in at Customer Services.
  • All learners are issued with an ID badge and green lanyard by Customer Services during their first session when enrolled on courses for more than one day. ID cards must be worn at all times by learners. Anyone who forgets their ID card will be asked to obtain a Visitors pass from Customer Services. If attending a course that is one day or less, they will be required to wear a visitors’ badge.

Personal property

Neither ACL Essex nor Essex County Council will accept responsibility for the loss or damage to personal property including cars parked on the premises.

Car Parking

We have car parking at most of our main centres. Please contact the appropriate reception for details. Sometimes our car parks become very busy and we ask that learners are patient and tolerant of others at these times. Individuals should not become abusive to staff or other learners.

Fire Safety
If the fire bell rings, please leave the building immediately and congregate in the designated assembly area. Please report any defective fire fighting or warning equipment immediately to reception. Please ensure that fire doors are not wedged open and that their self-closing mechanisms are not tampered with in any way.

Noise
Please keep noise to a minimum, particularly when signs indicate an exam is taking place.
Smoking Smoking and the use of e-cigarettes is not permitted inside any of our premises or at entrance/exit points of ACL buildings.

Refreshments

At all our main centres snacks, hot and cold drinks are available. These may sometimes be limited to service from machines and as such there may at times be very limited availability

Exclusion policy
Full details of the ACL exclusion policy are available on request.
Examinations Venue disclaimer Please note, you may be required to travel to an alternative ACL Centre when taking your examination or assessment. This will be communicated to you at the earliest opportunity.

Adverse Weather Closure
In the event of extreme weather and the need to close the college, we broadcast updates through ACL facebook page: www.facebook.com/aclessex and on the radio: BBC Essex FM 103.5 or 95.3 or MW 765. You can also check the radio station website at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/england/essex/

digital-skills

When attending a course

Mobile phones

Please switch off mobile phones during lessons except with the prior agreement of the course tutor.

Supporting your Learning

We recognise that adult learners come from widely varying backgrounds and are at different stages of their lives. We know you bring considerable knowledge, skills and experience to your learning and we aim to help you build on this. If you have a disability, learning difficulty or medical condition such as diabetes, epilepsy etc, we hope you will tell us about it. If you agree, we can work with you to put together a personalised package of support.  We can support you with English or maths to cope with course needs.

Types of support could include:

  • British Sign Language Communicator
  • Hearing loop or other aids for hearing impairment
  • Special exam arrangements such as extra time or exam papers in alternative formats
  • Extra help with assignments and coursework
  • One-to-one assistance in class  Enlarged print handouts or course material in alternative formats
  • Speech output or other assistive computer software

If you would like to discuss this in confidence, please let us know.

Term dates

Some of our courses run during term time, dates are shown below. However, courses that run throughout the year. You will be told course times by your tutor at the beginning of the course. Full term date information [link to website]

Unable to attend class?

What happens if I cannot attend the first session or miss a week? If you miss the first session, please let us know and come along to the next session.  Your tutor will be notified and will keep course materials for you.  Please contact us if you are unable to attend a session of your course.  We need to show your attendance on your course so that we can continue to subsidise your learning.

If you are unable to attend a session… If you wish to let us know that you are unable to attend a lesson or session you can contact us in the following way, send us an email with your full name, course code and the specific lesson day/time you are unable to attend to acl.absence@essex.gov.uk

Class cancellations

We reserve the right to cancel courses that fail to recruit minimum numbers.  If this becomes necessary, we will contact you by post, telephone, email or text.  Please let us know if your contact details change. If after the first session you attend you decide the course is unsuitable, please contact reception.

It is not the policy of Essex County Council to refund fees automatically when a change in circumstances prevents or discourages a learner from continuing with a particular class.

Safeguarding

Diversity and Equality

We respect all individuals regardless of their backgrounds, abilities or beliefs. This means we are committed to providing equal access to our services for all adult learners irrespective of race, age, ethnicity and culture, disabilities, learning difficulties, medical conditions, religion, sexual orientation, and gender. Adult Community Learning as part of Essex County Council seeks a society that is fair and inclusive. We will seek to uphold these values in our own dealings with the public.

Harassment

We are committed to the fair and equal treatment of learners and staff on a day-to-day basis. This means that bullying, harassment, victimisation and discrimination in any form are unacceptable. Anyone found guilty of harassment of any kind will be subject to disciplinary measures, including possible exclusion.

Actual or threatened violence will be viewed as a serious offence and may lead to prosecution.  Anyone found to be under the influence of alcohol and / or illegal drugs will be asked to leave the premises and may be liable to prosecution.